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Saturday, September 14, 2013

Peck Farm Park in Geneva, Illinois is a great hiking location just outside of Chicago and offers great hiking trails through both restored and natural prairie. Ashley and I had the chance to hike and explore this location on our recent trip to visit Ashley's aunt. Peck Farm Park is a beautiful 395 acres wildlife preserve with several interpretive centers to explore while on this fun short hike. For more pictures of our hike at Peck Farm, make sure to check out our Facebook Page.

Directions to Trailhead: The address for Peck Farm Park in Geneva Illinois is 4038 Kaneville Road Geneva, IL 60134 and it is located west of Randall Road on the corner of Kaneville Road and Peck Road in Geneva. The hours of operation for the hiking trails, picnic area, and the courtyard are sunrise to 10:00 p.m. year round. For the months of May through October the Orientation Barn, Observation Silo & Peck House are open Monday through Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.and Sunday 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. For the months of November through April the Orientation Barn, Observation Silo & Peck House are open Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5 p.m and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5 p.m and they are closed on Sunday. The Butterfly House is only open May 25-September 22. There is no cost for parking and for more information on Peck Farm Park you can call: (630) 262-8244.

Description of Trail: Peck Farm Park has many options when it comes to hiking trails. There is an outer paved loop around Peck Farm that is 2.4 miles roundtrip with less than 50 feet of elevation gain (Marked in Blue on the Google Map Below). There is a lake loop that is 1.1 miles roundtrip with less than 50 feet of elevation gain (Marked in Yellow on the Google Map Below). Lastly there is a prairie loop that will add approximately another mile with less than 50 feet of elevation gain (Marked in Green on the Google Map Below). There are several different hiking trails which connect these distinct loops as well. You can make your hike at Peck Farm Park as long or a short as you would like when hiking at Peck Farm Park. For a printable hiking trail map click Here. The hiking trails at Peck Farm Park are well maintained and are easy to follow.

Further Thoughts: Ashley and I really enjoyed our multiple hikes through Peck Farm Park during our trip to Illinois. We visited this area several times during our trip. We enjoyed hiking in an actual prairie because it was a completely new experience because there are no prairies in California. For thousands of years before European Settlers came to this area deep rooted prairie grass grew here. Each year new roots/grasses would grow and old ones would die leaving a very nutrient rich top soil. Being able to see the different types of prairies (long v. short) was very neat as they are completely distinct. Peck Farm Park has both long and short prairies and when you hike here you can visibly see the difference in the types of plants that grow in long and short prairies.

Peck Farm Park is also full of wildlife. You can find milk snakes, bull frogs, coyotes, red-tailed hawks, numerous butterflies, american toads, foxes, as well as other wildlife that inhabit this area. We saw a coyote, a bull frog, and several hawks while on our hikes. One of the neat things about this hike is the renovated grain silo that you can explore and climb to the top for a great view of the area. It is the last grain silo standing from Peck Farm because the others were knocked down by tornadoes and/or micro-bursts.

Peck Farm Park also has a very neat butterfly house that is fun to visit and is completely free. They have an area for donations which are always appreciated. The butterfly house is a fun exhibit for families with kids. Additionally, when hiking at Peck Farm Park you have the chance to visit the other areas of the old farm, such as the barn and the farm house. Bottom-line is the Peck Farm Park hike in Geneva Illinois was a fun one. This is a fun short hike and you are likely to see others out enjoying the beautiful hiking trials at Peck Farm Park.

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Welcome to Brian and Ashley's Hiking Blog! We are a website about Hiking in Orange County, Southern California, and beyond featuring detailed trail write-ups, trail maps, and advice on hikes throughout the United States.

NOTE: We attempt to provide our best description oftrail conditionsand what to expect when you hike on a given trail. As always, our write-ups reflect the view of what the trail conditions were at the time we hiked it. Make sure to always be prepared for any hike that you undertake in a wilderness or urban wilderness setting, by bringing enough water, food, having proper clothing, gear, shoes, a map, as well as telling someone where you are going and when to expect you back. Also, many of our hikes go through areas where mountain lions, bears, or rattlesnakes can be found. Additionally, always be prepared for weather conditions during the time of year you go hiking.